Autism diagnosis rates level off in UK

The rate at which autism is being diagnosed in Britain has slowed down significantly since the 1990s, a new study has shown.

A team at University College London examined anonymous data from GPs relating to about three million people and used it to estimate the number of eight-year-olds with autism for each year.

The annual prevalence was estimated to be 3.8 per 1,000 boys and 0.8 per 1,000 girls, a figure that remained largely stable between 2004 and 2010.

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Although there had been a surge in new cases in the 1990s, this had not continued.

In the British Medical Journal, the researchers said they had found 'compelling evidence that a major rise in incidence rates of autism recorded in general practice occurred in the decade of the 1990s, but reached a plateau shortly after 2000'.

Although the exact reason for this is not known, it was suggested that it may be due to improved awareness and testing that began to develop nearly 20 years ago.

Earlier in 2013, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence released new guidance designed to help health and social care workers to meet the needs of young people with autism and their families.

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